Since reading the Mainardi article I’ve been thinking about the idea of museum-as-spectacle. In her article on the opening of the Orsay, Mainardi writes: “If there were ever an architecture designed to reconcile contradictions and to substitute spectacle for history, that architecture is postmodernism.” (35). Drawing the work of  Robert Venturi — which identifies the combination of disparate stylistic elements from across time and geography as a key marker of postmodern architecture — Mainardi argues that the Orsay “creates a spectacle of historical references while at the same time dissembling whatever meanings those references might possess.” (35). Visiting in person I was surprised by how much the building still felt like a train station, despite the presence of fine art and Gae Aulenti’s architectural interventions. The small galleries that run up the nave have a kind of funneling effect, and ultimately direct visitors back into the spectacular central space. It seemed to me that visitors were equally compelled to take photographs of both the art and glass ceiling. When the museum itself becomes an art-object, does its architecture distract from the viewing experience of its collection? Mainardi writes that “The very aspects of the museum-as-spectacle that have been so successful with the general public have been almost unanimously condemned by professionals.” (36) Who is the museum-as-spectacle for? What purpose does it serve, beyond getting people in the door? 

In some sense, the reinstallation of the Albert Kahn collection draws on a similar principle of spectacle. The arrangement of back-lit autochromes across the main wall was not necessarily comprehensible from a historical standpoint — but it sure looked good, recalling comercial forms such as the neon sign or billboard. The multi-media interventions were extremely engaging and made up for the lack of contextualization in the display of autochromes. Their interactivity allows the visitor to direct their viewing experience, rather than being beholden to the curator/architect’s vision.